Below are some true stories that we have come across both in our personal lives and from speaking to our clients. The names are fictitious but the stories are true.
Martha & Pete
Martha & Peter, a mid-twenty couple with their Life ahead were excited to take a mortgage out together. They moved in together on Pete’s 26th birthday. As with many young couples they decided that Insurance was not for them at this stage. It will be something they get around to when they get older. Unfortunately, before Pete’s 28th Birthday he was diagnosed with a Malignant tumour. Despite getting excellent treatment from the NHS, because the cancer was so aggressive Pete passed away 6 months later. Both earned good salaries but because they had bought a big house as they wanted to start a family Martha had to sell the house and find something more manageable financially. Whilst we can’t help with the trauma of losing a loved one we can help with the financial impact of the devastating affect illness or death can have on a family.
Sally & Keith – Daisy, Billy & Scott
Sally was in her early thirties, married to Keith and 3 children. Fighting fit Sally & Keith took out Life cover for their mortgage because it was cheap but decided against any additional cover for the family or any Critical illness. Out of the blue Sally was diagnosed with Breast cancer. Her company was supportive during her treatment but because they hadn’t taken out critical illness cover their finances were stretched. Sally made an initial recovery but 2 years later the cancer came back aggressively and 6 months later she passed away. The mortgage was paid off with the life cover fortunately but now Keith was left trying to juggle a full-time job and looking after 3 children, not to mention the devastation of losing a loved one.
Derek
Derek, a single man aged 30 arranged his first mortgage. He spoke to James with regards his protection around the same time. James recommended that Derek’s main priority should be protecting himself as he had no dependents. James recommended a Critical illness policy for his mortgage and an Income protection plan to ensure that his bills would be covered if he was off sick for any reason. Derek appeared to be enticed by the large lump sum that he would receive if he was seriously ill, so went ahead with the Critical illness cover but declined the Income protection idea. 2 years passed and Derek, who was a self-employed joiner by trade, broke his leg in a freak accident. Derek contacted his adviser James wanting to make a claim. However because a broken leg is not classed as critical, James was forced to deliver the bad news that a claim could not be made. Derek was forced to take 4 months off work with no income which almost ruined him financially. James didn’t have the heart to tell Derek that if he had have followed his advice and accepted the income protection recommendation then this would have paid him during his time off.
Freya & Gordon
Freya and Gordon are long term mortgage clients for James’s company. They took out Life & Critical illness cover in 2016 which covered their mortgage. Thinking they were protected if the worst happened when James contacted them over the next few years to recommend that they review their cover, they declined thinking that they were covered adequately. Unfortunately in 2023 Freya fell extremely poorly at work and was diagnosed with Heart failure. Understandably they assumed that they could make a claim on their policy and they had piece of mind that Freya could take time off work to get the treatment that she needed. However, Heart Failure was not one of the illness’s that Freya was covered for. Most insurers only included Heart failure on their policies from 2020. Their claim was denied. Again James didn’t have the heart to tell them that if they had reviewed their cover in more recent years then Freya would have been able to make a successful claim under the plan.
Han
Han worked for a large company and when he took out a mortgage he decided against taking out any Life cover. He made the decision because the large organisation that he worked for gave him a great employment package including Life cover, which was more than enough to cover his mortgage. Several years later Han had set up his own company but unfortunately, a few years into his new venture needed heart surgery. Whilst Han’s surgery was successful, it made him consider what would happen to his family if he had died. As Han no longer had company benefits, he approached James to try and get some Protection. Unfortunately due to underwriting factors none of the standard insurers were able to cover him and he had to take out specialist insurance which was very expensive. Had Han taken out cover for the mortgage when he took out his mortgage then he would have saved a fortune.